Books from Australia
Writing from Australia draws on a wide range of forms, from novels and crime fiction to poetry and memoir. The country's scale, its cities and its rural places give Australian writers a broad set of settings and subjects.
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Contemporary Fiction
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The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
A novel set mainly on a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback, following the Cleary family from 1915 to 1969.
- The Secret River by Kate Grenville. A novel set in the early colonial period of Australia, about a convict who settles on the Hawkesbury River.
- Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally. A novel about Oskar Schindler and the Jews he sheltered during the Holocaust.
Mystery & Thriller
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The Dry by Jane Harper
A crime novel set in a small rural town in Australia, in the mystery and thriller tradition.
- The Broken Shore by Peter Temple. A crime novel by an Australian writer, in the country's mystery and thriller tradition.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
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The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
A science fiction and fantasy novel about a young woman questioned over a group of young people with special abilities in a future Australia.
Poetry
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The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses by Banjo Paterson
A collection of ballads and poems that describe the people and places of the Australian bush.
Memoir & Nonfiction
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Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James
A memoir covering the author's childhood in Australia and his early adult years.
How we choose
These lists start from books Atlas Unread readers can stamp for Australia. Each title and author is confirmed against Wikidata, Wikipedia or library records before it is listed.